A visit to Vatican, Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain

September 23 

Our group went out in the morning to tour Vatican; the Pantheon; Trevi Fountain etc. We had visited Rome on a previous tour and had spent considerable time including attending an opera. We took a break.

These are some of the pictures taken by our tour members

From Raymond Austin’s collection on his share:

The famous Pieta by Michael Angelo

Baldacchino and Bernini’s Cattedra Altar (in the center)

The Cupola of the Cathedral

Looking at Bernini’s Baldacchino from under the Cupola

Vatican military, the Swiss Guards.

Recruits are unmarried Swiss Catholic males between 19 and 30 years of age. Oh!

They must have served in Swiss armed forces.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Swiss_Guard

Fig.10

The Façade of the Cathedral (made of travertine). St. Peter’s Square with statue of St. Peter on the left. The central window is where the Pope extends his blessings during Easter and Christmas.

Scenes from the Interior of Pantheon (above).

Our group in the Interior of Pantheon

From Al Kehew’s collection on Pinterest.

Raphael’s Fresco: Expulsion of Heliodorus from the temple (1511-1513)

Center is the priest and he is looking at the Menorah. The man on the horse is driving out Heliodorus.

‘The School of Athens’ FRESCO by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Rafael (1483-1520))

Michael Angelo’s Pieta at St. Peter’s Basilica (in Carrara marble). It has Michael Angelo’s signature.

Read the incident related to its dis-figuration by an Australian of Hungarian descent (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietà_(Michelangelo).

St. Peter’s Square

The Pantheon (for all gods), a former Roman temple commissioned by Agrippa (original one 27 BC-14 AD). Presently re-purposed as a church and used in weddings.

The central OCULUS brings in the light to the inside. It is made of unreinforced concrete and one of its kind. Our group in front of the Pantheon in the Piazza della Rotunda.

There is a side street near Pantheon where I had the best coffee and gelato shop close by which your find in most guide books.

Fig.25

In the interior of the Pantheon.

Fig.26

In the interior of the Pantheon.

Fig.27

Close-up of Trevi Fountain

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) Oceanus at the Trevi Fountain

As We did not join the group and went on our own and visited the nearby Spanish Steps (circa 1723) made famous by the ‘Holiday in Rome’ movie. We did visit Spanish Steps on our previous trip but decided to spend some time there today and looking to eat the highly recommended artichoke dish famous in Rome called the ‘Carciofi alla Guidia’ aka Jewish artichoke. Unfortunately, they were out of season.

Here is a picture of the dish from this site (https://www.thespruce.com/carciofi-alla-giudia-roman-jewish-artichoke-recipe-2017775)

As expected there was a huge crowd at the Spanish Steps and the morning sun was very strong. The last time we were there we had approached it from the bottom of the steps (Piazza di Spagna) and this time the route from our hotel brought us to the top of the steps near the Trinita dei Monti (French, Gothic) church at the top. The church predates the 137 famous steps. The Obelisk in front of the church is a Roman construction which was re-erected here from its previous location in Gardens of Sallust.

Here are some slides from the visit:

Spanish Steps

We had our lunch at Numbs Piazza Di Spagna as there were only few restaurants that served early lunch. The food was mediocre. We returned and took rest as I was not feeling too well with my throat stuffed up. In the evening we had dinner at La Pentolaccia in via Flavia 38. The dinner was good and price reasonable. The server by mistake charged twice for the same dish which he later corrected with an apology. The Tiramisu was superb according to my wife.

Tomorrow we all go and visit the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.